She'll Be Okay
by Bella7
Summary: Songfic I'll always have the memories, she'll always have you. Fate has a way of changing just when you don't want it to.


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She'll Be Okay

By Bella7

Disclaimers: JK Rowling owns all the stuff you're familiar with, I own everything you're not. This story is for Jillian, the best little chicky a girl could ask for. I've been promising to write this for a long time, so here ya go, Jill. Enjoy it. And everyone else- review, review, review! Oh, and Amanda Marshall owns the song "I'll Be Okay" which you can find on the soundtrack of _My Best Friend's Wedding_

It's time to let you go   
It's time to say goodbye   
There's no more excuses   
No more tears to cry

When she received the owl that he was getting married, Hermione's breath had caught in her throat and her eyes had welled up with involuntary tears. _Ron_? _Getting married? First? _That hardly seemed fair. If he was out, marrying people and being perfectly happy never exploring what might have happened between them- well that was just fine with her.

And that's exactly what she'd told Harry, who'd Apparated to see her the minute he'd heard.

"You really _look _like you're fine with it." He commented, dutifully, watching her stalk from room to room of her flat, fighting the urge to scream. She plopped down on the sofa next to her best friend and leaned against him, sighing deeply.

"I'm fine. Really. Totally fine." Harry put an arm around her shoulders,

"You just keep telling yourself that."

"Yeah."

As it turned out, when Ron had sent his best friends the owls, he hadn't popped the question yet. Hermione had a pleasant four days where she could imagine that perhaps she wouldn't say yes and things could just go back to the way they were.

"She said yes, you know." Harry informed her, over the Muggle telephone they each had installed at their flats for instant communication.

"Who is it? I didn't even think to ask."

"Jillian."

"Oh." There was a sound of a little yelp sadness from Hermione's end of the phone. "Of course- Jillian." Jillian Rodgers- a small, rather crazy kind of girl they'd met in their travels of the eastern coast of the US in the summer following their seventh year at Hogwarts. She wasn't a witch, but they'd all agreed she'd adjusted to the shocking news quite well. She and Ron had been together for almost four years.

"She's really very nice you know."

"I know." Hermione did really enjoy her company, Jillian was fun to be with.

"And Ron really loves her."

"I know."

"And she really loves him too."

"I know." They'd sighed together.

"So how are you doing?"

"Just…swimmingly."

"Good." Harry took a deep breath. "She wanted me to ask you to be one of her bridesmaids." The phone fell from her hand.

"What?" Hermione picked it up and put it to her ear again.

"It would mean a lot to them both."

"Why can't she just ask me herself?"

"I suppose it's because she's afraid you'd say no."

"Oh…all right. Like it really matters." She sighed angrily; making Harry roll his eyes.

"It matters to me-and it will matter to them. Owl them and tell them you'll do it. It'll be a good first step."

"First step to what?"

"Getting over it." Harry hung up the phone before Hermione could respond.

There's been so many changes   
I was so confused   
All along you were the one   
All the time I never knew

That was eight months ago- to the date. Hermione sat at the vanity, carefully applying cosmetic charms to her face to hide the bags under her eyes due to the lack of sleep she'd had and the blemish that had erupted under her chin. The bridal party, which included not only Hermione, but Jillian's older cousin, Emma, her two best friend Val and Alyson, her little sister Michaela and Ginny. The youngest Weasley poked her head in the room after a knock on the door.

"Hey there."

"Hey." Hermione put her wand down and motioned to the racket outside the room. "What's going on?"

"I don't know, they started reminiscing, so I thought I'd check on you." Ginny sat down on the edge of the vanity, her red hair contrasting nicely with the light blue of her bridesmaid dress. Hermione did have to compliment Jillian on her taste in clothing: she'd dressed them all beautifully, very carefully making certain that she didn't clash with anyone's skin or hair. "So, how are you?"

"I'm here."

"And may I say that I'm proud of you for doing that." Ginny offered a smile and patted her friend's shoulder. Hermione smiled back, without showing her teeth. "So what's going on with you?"

"I don't honestly know. I mean, do I have any reason to feel this wretched?"

"Of course you do! One always has an excuse to feel wretched- I encourage it every once in awhile." Hermione frowned in disapproval of Ginny's light hearted attitude. The redhead sobered, "and to answer your question- yes, you do. I mean, you and Ron had…something."

"Something that we never did anything about."

"So? It doesn't mean it didn't exist. It was there, and real. And granted it had a deeply ironic sense of timing, but you're allowed to be hurt that he moved on." Hermione sighed and pushed herself away from the vanity mirror,

"But I like Jillian! And Ron loves her, and he's happy. So why can't I just…let it go?" Ginny stood and wrapped her friend in a hug,

"Because you loved him. And you still do, you probably will forever, and that's not something you let go just because he's getting married," she advised into Hermione's shoulder. She felt her nod and let go, peering into her eyes, checking for tears. "You're good. Now let me see that famous Granger grin." Hermione attempted a very pathetic looking smile and Ginny told her so. "You're going to have to do better than that."

"Yeah, I'll try." Hermione succeeded a genuine smile, reflected by Ginny. There was a knock at the door, they turned to see Jillian, looking beautiful, standing nervously at the doorway.

"It's just about time, guys. You ready?" Ginny turned to her sister-in-law-to-be and gave her a huge smile.

"No time like the present. C'mon, let's go get you married to my big brother." Jillian flashed her the thumbs up, proclaiming that that was a marvelous idea. Hermione took a deep breath, thought about what Ginny had said, and followed them out to the car, practicing her smile.

_I want you to be happy   
You're my best friend   
But it's so hard to let you go now   
All that could have been   
I'll always have the memories   
She'll always have you   
Fate has a way of changing   
Just when you don't want it to_

The wedding was lovely- there was no other way to put it. A perfect mixture of wizarding and Muggle decorations. The organist played "Grow Old With Me" while rose petals and sparkles fell from the rafters of the while each Weasley son escorted a bridesmaid down the aisle. Hermione wound up with Fred, who gave her a wink and nod for her to look in Ron's direction, where his youngest brother could be seen blinking noticeably and touching the inner corners of his eyes.

"Sap. He's been weepy since Ginny walked up here, and she was first." Fred commented with a shake of his head, giving Hermione a kiss on the cheek as he let her go. Harry, proudly standing next to Ron, also offered her a wink. She winked at both of them and took her place in between Alyson and Val, toying with her flowers.

The service, though lovely, was a blur to Hermione as she stared at the couple, her mind playing a silent movie of all memories she had with Ron, including the day she introduced him to the woman he was now marrying.

The three of them had been visiting Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in July five years ago, stopping their beach-baby activities to stop for dinner at a small dinner called Lucky You. Jillian, a waitress-not theirs- had been wiping off a table on the other side of the restaurant. Ron had been captivated. Harry and Hermione had been trying to hold a conversation with him since they'd walked in.

"Harry, this is ridiculous." Hermione had said, with a shake of her head, she raised a hand and got the girl's attention. She came hurrying over,

"Anything wrong?"

"No, no, nothing like that. Are you seeing anyone?" Hermione cut straight to the point, making Harry choke on his water. The waitress looked confused,

"Umm...no."

"Well that's wonderful, isn't it Ron?" Ron, whose ears had turned bright red, only nodded, unable to speak. "I'm Hermione Granger and this is my dear friend, Ron Weasley."

"Nice to meet you." Jillian had greeted cheerfully; Ron had mumbled something along those lines, shooting Harry pleading looks to make her stop.

"Ron's been fascinated by you since we walked in- could we please have your name and phone number so we can actually have a conversation with our friend?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ron spoke up, finally, pointing to her chest where her nametag was pinned. "Her name is Jesus." He stopped for a minute, "your name is Jesus?" Jillian looked down and blushed,

"Oh, no. That's not my name. That's just someone being…really stupid. I'm Jillian." She shook his hand, making him fall silent again. "I-I suppose I could give you my number if you…really wanted it."

"He does." Harry interjected, quickly. "He really does." Ron had offered a weakly embarrassed smile as Jillian shrugged and scribbled down her home and cell phone number before scampering off, blushing furiously. Hermione looked at the phone number,

"This is incentive for you to learn how to use the telephone, Ronald."

"I **know** how to use a fellytone, Hermione." She and Harry exchanged looks, accompanied by deep eye rolls.

The sound of applause interrupted Hermione's reverie, startling her into almost dropping her bouquet. Her eyes shot the front of the chapel where Ron was locked in an embrace with his new wife. She found herself smiling around the lump in her throat, clapping along with the rest of the congregation as Ron pulled away from Jillian, resting his forehead against hers and grinning like a total idiot. Her Ron was happy. 

She was dabbing at her own eyes when she met up with Fred again, who sighed,

"Don't you start on me, Granger. I depend on you- you're the stable one."

"Oh shut up, Fred."

Life passes so quickly   
You gotta take the time   
Or you'll miss what really matters   
You'll miss all the signs   
I've spent my life searching   
For what was always there   
Sometimes it will be too late   
Sometimes it won't be fair

Harry noticed Hermione twirling her knife around, half-heartedly listening to something Dean Thomas was telling his table. Harry pulled up a chair beside her. 

"Not thinking on using that, are you?" He gently pulled the knife from her hand, she smiled,

"No, darling Harry. I wasn't."

"How're you doing?"

"I'm doing." Harry leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"I'm proud of you, you know." She smiled,

"Thanks."

Harry squeezed her hand, "so you're sure you're going to be okay?"

"Oh yes, eventually, I shall recover and move on to bigger and better people." They smiled before Harry got to his feet and pulled her up,

"C'mon, Miss. We're going dancing." He leaned down and address the table where she'd been sitting, "excuse me, gentlemen, I'm just going to borrow her for a bit."

With a smile, he led her out onto the dance floor.

_I won't give up   
I won't give in   
I can't recreate what just might have been   
I know that my heart will find love again   
Now is the time to begin_

Hermione heard her own laughter ringing as Harry spun her around until she felt dizzy. Ron glanced over at the two of them over Jillian's shoulder,

"Having fun, you two?" He asked, with a smile. Harry shrugged,

"She dragged me out here- you know how I hate to dance." Hermione laughed again and smacked his arm,

"It's lovely, Ronald. Just lovely." The song changed to a slow number. Harry's face turned slightly pink and he cleared his throat, looking to the ground. Hermione sighed, "must I initiate everything in this relationship?"

"What are you implying?"

"I'm implying that you stop being such a little girl and dance with me." She looped her arms around his neck, pulling him close. "Besides, I'm vulnerable and on the rebound- your chances are way up." She felt him laugh as he slid his arms around her waist.

"So, onward and upward then?" Harry asked softly, pulling back to look into her eyes. She smiled and nodded,

"Onward and upward." She rested her head on his shoulder again, allowing him to lead her.

Toward the end of the song, Hermione found herself staring at Ron over Harry's shoulder. He too was looking at her from over Jillian's shoulder. He smiled gently before mouthing the words "I love you."

Hermione mouthed them back, feeling herself tearing up again, giving him a smile and holding Harry all the more tightly.

She would live to see another heartache, and one of these, it would be her turn to be happy. She'd just have to wait it out. __

I can't hold on forever baby   
I'll be okay


End file.
